The inspiration to write this article came to me last week when I was in Copenhagen, Denmark checking out the very vibrant craft- beer scene. I was on the way back from a business trip in Sweden when I ran into a couple of local Danes who, while not real “beer geeks” certainly crossed over into the “beer-curious” column. Michael and Thomas jokingly told me they were breaking Danish protocol when they engaged me, a total stranger, in conversation at the bar of “Brewpub København”. The discussion somehow turned toward getting a bite to eat and then a request that I join them. Whatever plans they had previously made went out the window because tonight these guys were answering a call to national duty as Danish culinary diplomats. Their mission was to introduce me to the wonder of the traditional Danish Smørrebrød (open faced sandwich) and dare I say, Carlsberg beer.

Both men assured me that the Cafe Sorgenfri was the “real deal”. The smallish café was right in the heart of the old city, just a few blocks away from the longest pedestrian shopping street in Europe. The step down into the place from a corner entrance reminded me of many a seedy Atlantic City bar of my youth, though not smoky and dank at all and not one gaudy neon beer sign to be seen. In fact the place was brightly lit and quite cheery inside and out with family pictures and memorabilia donning the walls in every direction. The guys told me that the place has been an institution since the late1700’s and still family owned.

Carlsberg beer is also a Danish institution of sorts. Although a bit bland for my taste, Carlsberg beer has been the inspiration for most of the “euro-lagers” brewed today. It has become the “Budweiser for the rest of the world”, though a tiny bit more flavorful. The Copenhagen based brewery has quite a history in the world of brewing; in fact its founder J.C. Jacobsen was the man who hired Louis Pasteur to figure out exactly what caused fermentation. Mr. Pasteur’s discovery of brewing yeast was the result; the scientific name of which is Saccharomyces Carlbergensis, named after the brewery that funded the discovery. Although I am not a fan of Carlsberg or any other euro-lager, these beers do have their place, and especially Carlsberg when paired with the traditional smørrebrød fare of Denmark.

My Danish hosts ordered up the classic combinations of the meal, a round of Carlsberg beer and a bottle of an anise flavored akavit (a schnapps whose name is derived from “water of life” but I would like to see someone try to live off of this stuff!). The meal was served on a multi level tray like you would see at a typical buffet (smorgasbord, smørrebrød, are you getting the connection?). Everything is eaten with a knife and fork “open face style” on dark rye bread (instantly halving your carb-intake, brilliant!). 

Starting with pickled herring served with a pork-fat spread and then onward to liver pate, pot roast, chicken-asparagus salad and spicy shrimp salad, all were delicious. Red onion and other sides like cucumbers, beets and red bean sprouts added a range of very fresh and earthy flavors to the “protein” on the bread.

The Carlsberg beer surprisingly hung in there and dare I say “enhanced” the experience. This was no surprise to my hosts, as they believe the true success of Carlsberg beer is that it was designed to work with this very traditional and popular meal, to do otherwise would have meant sure death in the Danish marketplace. The sips of Akavit enhanced the dill and other spices and especially harmonized with the dark rye bread almost like liquid caraway seed. On the other hand, the spicy schnapps couldn’t upstage the relatively bland euro-lager at pulling this meal together; proving to me that every beer must have its place somewhere (except maybe for Miller-Chill).

There is an old saying which says that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink. I went to Copenhagen with no plans to drink even one Carlsberg beer, but alas I am a “beer-culture kinda guy” and I am really glad these two guys were willing to lead me to a Carlsberg beer paired with a great meal, creating an incredible beer-culture experience.  

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 8:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.